TEST REPORT

Dual Tuner Meter

MKTech
CB200 HD
extremely small and handy
device
easy adjustment of LOF and
DiSEqC settings
perfect for installers: enlarged
presentation of signal bar,
acoustic signals
automatic DiSEqC detection:
excellent for use with multifocus antennas
8 transponders can be
monitored simultaneously
thanks to packet control

32 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

www.TELE-audiovision.com 03-04/2015 TELE-audiovision International

33

TEST REPORT

Dual Tuner Meter

Small in Size
Big in Features
The new dual tuner meter
CB200 HD from MKTech is
available for the South America market. Shipped inside a
neutral, white cardboard box
it will take most buyers by
surprise thanks to its small
size: Measuring only 105 x
170 x 45 mm this must be
one of the smallest and most
lightweight meters we have
ever received for testing. Why
do we always rave so much
about small and lightweight
measuring devices? Well, just
pretend to be a professional
installer for arguments sake.
Youll have to carry along
your meter all day long even
to the trickiest of places, and
thats why size and weight
are always two of the determining factors when it comes
to making that purchase decision. We also clearly appre-

ciate that buyers wont feel

short-changed when it comes
to accessories: MKTech ships
its latest offering complete
with protective case, carrying strap, car charger, mains
charger as well as a range of
adapter plugs. The built-in
battery pack of the CB200
HD is charged with 15V power supply and has stamina
for up to four hours of continuous operation. Once it is
completely drained it takes
roughly the same amount of
time for a full charging cycle.
The top side of the meter
comes equipped with two F
sockets for terrestrial and
DVB-S2 signal feeds. Offering
a separate input socket for
each signal source is a smart
idea by MKTech, as it allows

03-04/2015
MKTech CB200 HD
Who would have thought antenna
alignment can actually be fun?

www.TELE-audiovision.com/15/03/mktech

measurements of both signals without having to switch

cables.
The 3.5-inch colour LCD
screen is easy to read, even
though you have to try a littler harder than with some
competing products in direct sunlight. As long as the
screen was totally black we
could detect some video
noise which does, however,
disappear when an OSD insert pops up or a channel is
presented. The LCD screen
comes with a resolution of
320 x 240 pixels.
Right below the screen
you can find five status LEDs
which
indicate
operating

34 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

mode, successful signal lock,

active 22 kHz control signal
and currently supplied LNB
voltage. Further below there
are a conveniently positioned
On/Off switch as well as four
colour-coded function keys
that can take care of most
features and functions of the
CB200 HD. Why most and not
all? Well, MKTech has decided
to provide dedicated buttons
for quick access to some key
functions of the meter, such
as system settings, angle calculation, signal search, satellite search as well as launching and closing the main
menu. Cross-shaped navigation keys, an OK button and a
numeric keypad complete the
clearly laid out operating concept. In general, all buttons
are easy to reach and provide
perfect feedback so that after

a short period of familiarisation users should be able to

operate the CB200 HD without even having to look at it.
On the bottom side of the
meter MKTech has positioned
a USB port, a socket for connecting the external charging
unit, as well as a mechanical
power switch. We would have
appreciated a way to feed
A/V signals from the meter
to an external device and to
display external signals on
the meters screen. Neither
option, however, is available.
The main menu of the
CB200 HD sports a decidedly
minimalistic look and feel.
This is not a bad thing at all,
since it allows operating the
meter without having to study
the manual beforehand. In
System Settings users can
select their preferred OSD
language, the measuring unit

the search mode. On the

one hand this saves valuable
time, and on the other hand
it also uncovers the user interface strategy designed for
the CB200 HD: In a nutshell,
MKTech has tried to create as
few separate menu items as
possible, while at the same
time making sure all required
functions can be accessed
right when and where they
are needed.
The channel search that
follows next can safely be
restricted to free-to-air channels, as the CB200 HD is
not equipped with a CI slot
or internal card reader anyway. And if you dont require
a network search, this additional option can be deactivated as well. As soon as
the search is completed, the
meter will switch to the first
detected channel and will

36 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

for the signal level as well as

supply voltage through the
terrestrial signal input, if required. You wont find many
more adjustment options and
quite frankly you wont
need any more either!
This means youre (or rather, the meter is) ready for
taking the first signal measurement. All you need to do is
look up a dedicated menu item
labelled Satellite or Terrestrial. Contrary to many meters
offered by other manufacturers MKTech has equipped the
CB200 HD with a genuinely
up-to-date database of C
band and Ku band satellites.
A total of 82 satellite entries
are available, complete with
all their transponder data. So
1. Main menu of the MKTech
CB200 HD
2. Various measurements in
DVB-S2 mode
3. Transponder search
4. Constellation diagram
5. Explorer function
6. Selecting the target
transponder
7. Packet Control function
8. Selecting the appropriate
LOF frequency
9. Selecting the appropriate
DiSEqC ports
10. DiSEqC protocols 1.2 and
1.3 are supported as well
11. Angle calculation
12. DiSEqC 1.2 options

if your antenna is aligned correctly to the desired satellite,

you can initiate a transponder
search right away and work
yourself from correct to optimum alignment. Once the desired satellite and transponders have been confirmed, the
CB200 HD begins to measure
away immediately and displays signal strength, signal
quality and BER on the screen
both as bars and with exact
numeric values. The currently
measured transponders can
easily be changed with a single touch of a button, a bonus
that pleased us no end during
our test. In addition, the LOF
and DiSEqC parameters can
be adjusted just as conveniently. The manufacturer has
pre-set frequently used LOFs
that should cover most LNB
types, including SCR LNBs,
and even if you encounter an
LNB that uses a more exotic
LOF youre entirely free to enter any frequency manually.
Looking at the technical
specifications of a device
is all well and good, yet its
only during an in-depth test
that some features score
more points than others. In
the case of the CB200 HD
we thoroughly appreciated
the fact that the transponder list can be edited right in

10

11

12

www.TELE-audiovision.com 03-04/2015 TELE-audiovision International

37

13

18

14

19

15

20

16

21

17

22

display it on the screen complete with all its parameters

(frequency, satellite, polarisation, PIDs, etc.). Although
we know that no meter can
ever permanently replace a
standard receiver (not least if
it does not come with an A/V
output), we still can confirm
that the CB200 HD offers all
basic functions and features
for watching TV on its screen.
This includes an easy-to-navigate channel list that can be
restricted to individual satellites and/or reception types
and that can be edited totally
hassle-free. Even 720p and
1080i channels will be shown
flawlessly on the CB200 HDs
small display. PAL, SECAM,
NTSC you name it the meter will happily deal with any
of those colour systems, and
of course the meter can create a constellation diagram
for each frequency for an optical signal check. We tried it
out several times during our
test and it invariably worked
to our utmost satisfaction.
As a worthwhile alternative
for fine-tuning an antenna
alignment you may want to
use the so-called Explorer
function which shows a single transponder complete
with all signal quality, signal
strength, BER and C/N parameters as well as search
mode used, frequency, symbol rate, polarisation and
satellite. When working in
challenging
environments
such as up on a roof, both the
enlarged signal bar presentation (which can be activated
at any time, if required) and
the acoustic feedback can be
extremely useful helpers in
your day-to-day job routine.
Dont we all face the same
issue time and again? After a
lot of moving back and forth
13. Spectrum display
14. Spectrum display with low
increments
15. Automatic DiSEqC
detection
16. Satellite identification
17. Channel search
18. TV display
19. Channel list
20. Detailed channel
information
21, 22. System settings

38 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

the antenna we finally catch a

signal, but is it really beamed
from the satellite were aiming at? The CB200 HD has a
solution for that scenario
its called Automatic Satellite
Detection and works like a
charm. Thanks to the meters
pre-stored satellite and transponder database the device
is capable of identifying the
source satellite of an incoming signal almost instantly.
Of course we tried out that
feature several times and
can confirm that it worked
surprisingly reliably, even
though you should always
bear in mind that the CB200
HD can only detect those
satellites that are included
in the pre-stored list or have
been entered manually. So
if you work with some less
widely received positions
chances are the meter might
not be able to identify those.
The DiSEqC search feature
turned out to work just as
smoothly in our test using it allows the CB200 HD to
read out the entire configuration of a DiSEqC 1.0 or 1.1
switch. In combination with
multi-focus antennas this is
a great benefit and a hugely
welcome tool. DiSEqC detection helped us save valuable
time, which in the real world
translates into money that
can be saved. Not a bad deal,
dont you think?
Then there is a menu item
with the somewhat mysterious description Packet Control. Whats that all about?
We believe it hides an extremely helpful feature that
allows you to monitor signal
level and signal quality of up
to eight transponders at a
time. If youre dealing with
complex distribution setups,
for example, Packet Control
will quickly identify any signal tilt on one of the transponders. How does signal
tilt appear in the first place?
Coax cables exceeding a
certain length unfortunately
tend to cause more attenuation on higher frequencies
than on lower frequencies,
which in turn may prompt a
low-threshold satellite tuner
to over-modulate those lower

23. USB media playback

24. MP3 playback
25. TS video playback
26. ISDB-T frequency search
27. ISDB-T channel search
28. Frequency identification
29. Spectrum display in ISDB-T mode
30. TV playback in ISDB-T mode with detailed
channel information
31. PVR function
32. Recording the currently received channel
33. Recording the currently received channel

frequencies. With the help of

the CB200 HD and its simultaneous presentation of up to
eight transponders this problem can be detected right at
the outset and can be recti-

23

fied using a sat slope, for example. A sat slope is a component that is looped into the
coax cable in order to add low
frequency attenuation so that
in the end you arrive at a per-

40 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

fectly balanced distribution

signal.
The CB200 HD can be used
to control a DiSEqC motor
using both the DiSEqC 1.2
and DiSEqC 1.3 protocols,

24

29

25

30

26

31

27

32

28

33

which means you have all

necessary
movement and
adjustment options at your
disposal for an effortless
setup. Whats more, the new
MKTech meter calculates the
azimuth and elevation values
for each desired satellite as
soon as the meters current
location is entered. This way
all parameters are always at
your fingertips, or rather:
right before your eyes.
To finish things off, the
MKTech CB200 HD obviously
also comes with a spectrum
display mode, which can even
be restricted to a specific frequency range, if need be.
In addition, all parameters
(polarisation, 22 kHz signal,
LOF, DiSEqC) can be changed
quickly thanks to corresponding function keys. The displayed bandwidth can be set
at either 4 or 16 MHz. As soon
as a signal peak in the spectrum has been identified and
selected with the help of the
navigation buttons, this peak
can be measured and evaluated immediately. All you require is a little patience, since
the spectrum display reacts
rather slowly to changed reception conditions.
From a technical point of
view, the CB200 HD supports
the QPS, 8PSK, 16APSK and
32APSK modulations in DVBS2 mode, with symbol rates
from 2 to 55 Mbps. The input frequency range extends
from 950 to 2150 MHz, as
usual, and the input signal
level must be between 25
dBV and 100 dBV, according to the manufacturers
specifications.
Turning to terrestrial signal
measurement now, this section of the meter basically
follows the same principles
as the DVB-S2 section, but of
course is specifically adapted
to the peculiarities of ISDBT. In the frequency selection field users can either
enter the desired frequency
manually or choose the target channel from a list. Here,
too, it is possible to edit existing entries and to add new
entries at all times. Any of
the listed frequencies can be
selected for a manual search.

www.TELE-audiovision.com 03-04/2015 TELE-audiovision International

41

Similar to DVB-S2 reception,

it is possible to perform an
automatic signal scan across
the entire frequency band.
The Transponder Identification feature clearly indicates
MER, BER, signal strength
and signal quality in an easyto-read way, which means
aligning a terrestrial antenna for perfect reception becomes childs play.
Packet Control is available
in ISDB-T mode as well, just
as for DVB-S2, and here, too,
it allows simultaneous monitoring of up to eight frequencies on the built-in screen.
What about spectrum mode
for terrestrial signals? We can
tick that box!
Speaking of spectrum analysis, the CB200 HD allows
selecting certain criteria to
speed up the spectrum displays response time. Thats
a very clever feature, as it
makes antenna alignment
with the help of spectrum results so much easier. From a
technical point of view, the
MKTech meter supports the
16QAM, 64QAM and QPSK
modulations with an input

frequency range from 107

to 858 MHz. Should your antenna come with active signal
amplification and therefore
require 5V supply voltage,
the CB200 HD can happily
provide it.
While the measurement
specs of a meter are of course
the details everyones focussing on, we should not forget
to look at the received channels of a transponder or frequency and how they can be
used or processed. Luckily,
the MKTech CB200 HD does
not leave us out in the cold in
that regard. It even goes the
extra mile by not only providing all standard functions we
would have expected, but by
also allowing the currently
received transponder or frequency stream to be stored
onto an external storage medium. Now thats what we call
a real treat!
The PC Update item of the
main menu can be used to
update the CB200 HDs software with the help of an external storage medium, but
also offers a basic jukebox
for playing back MP3 audio

and TS video. In addition, you

will also find a built-in image
viewer. MKTech even throws
in an integrated file manager
that can be used to delete or
rename files on an external
USB storage medium and to
completely format the storage medium, which is another
great idea.
By the end of our in-depth

test, the MKTech CB200 HD

had become a much loved
tool for antenna installation,
not least thanks to its truly
low weight. We succeeded in
perfectly aligning several satellite antennas, with a tricky
multi-focus antenna among
them. In addition, we were
able to enjoy flawless ISDB-T
reception in our test center.

EXPERT
OPINION

MKTech CB200 HD
Dual Tuner Meter

RECOMMENDED
PRODUCT BY

Thomas Haring
Test Center
Austria

+ The MKTech CB200 HD is a very handy and lightweight meter

which excels thanks to great usability and a logical and straightforward on-screen design.

The F sockets become very hot after prolonged use.

42 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 03-04/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com